Mr S Iswaran at the Nanosymposium 2007

Opening Address by Mr S Iswaran, Minister of State for Trade and Industry at Nanosymposium 2007 on 3 December 2007, 9.00am at the Matrix Auditorium in Biopolis

Prof Guenter Wilkening

Dr Peter Hatto

Distinguished Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen,

Good morning.

Introduction

I am pleased to join you here today at this Nanosymposium organised by SPRING Singapore in partnership with A*STAR and EDB.

This symposium is being held in conjunction with the ISO TC 229 and IEC TC 113 plenary and working group meetings.I understand that we have over 340 participants, including 120 international guests from 20 economies at today’s event. This is a sizeable turnout and it is a reflection of the importance nanotechnology holds for technical personnel, academia, researchers and regulators.

Development of Nanotechnology Worldwide

Nanotechnology is widely recognised as a critical enabler of today’s innovation economy and a new driving force for many industries. The potential applications of nanotechnology are extensive and it will have an impact on nearly every aspect of our lives – from communications to healthcare, energy, food, the environment and even our recreation. With nanotechnology, we can develop lighter and stronger materials for automobiles and aircrafts, or new sustainable energy sources to address our energy needs. It may even create new industry segments previously unimaginable, and bridge the gap between traditionally separate clusters. The possibilities are truly endless and exciting!

It is therefore not surprising that - according to international market reports - morethan $14 billion was spent globally on Nanotech R&D in 2005. Consumer demand is expected to grow annually to around $1.05 trillion by 2010, while the growth of the nanotechnology sector itself is typically between 8 to 21 per cent depending on the applications and products. Given such significant economic potential, over 60 countries have invested heavily in nanotechnology since early 2000 and Singapore is no exception.

Government Support of Nanotechnology in Singapore

The Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) has earmarked $20 million a year for nanotech-related R&D and manpower development through A*STAR. In addition, MTI has allocated a further $10 million to fund the development of SPRING’s nanometrology programme. A multi-agency and multi-pronged approach has also been adopted for nanotechnology development. First, we have stepped up our R&D efforts in nanotechnology. Over the last 10 years, A*STAR has invested more than $210 million to equip researchers with key capabilities and state-of-the-art facilities to better support the needs of companies doing nanotechnology R&D here.

Second, through EDB, we have grown the number of nanotechnology companies in Singapore. There are now about 40ananotechnology companies, a significant increase from just 10 companies three years ago. This healthy mix of local and foreign companies view Singapore as a base where they can partner multinationals in our chemicals, semiconductor, precision engineering and biomedical industries. Examples of some nanotech companies include Nanomaterials Technology Pte Ltd, Singular ID Pte Ltd and Nanofilm Technologies Pte Ltd. These companies have leveraged on Singapore for their technology development and business activities, and have forged successful collaborations and partnerships with MNCs in Singapore and overseas.The Government remains committed to help such companies grow.

Third, we are helping the smaller nanotechnology companies sharpen their competitive edge and grow by adopting technology through SPRING’s $150 million Technology Innovation Programme (or TIP in short). TIP supports up to 50 per cent of the development costs for technology projects undertaken by local SMEs. It also funds up to 70 per cent of the costs of technology experts seconded to SMEs from academic institutions. Already these efforts have begun to bear fruit. NanoScience Innovation Pte Ltd is developing high dielectric nano-composite materials with the help of a researcher seconded from A*STAR’s Institute of Materials Research and Engineering (IMRE).Such secondments will help our SMEs develop new intellectual property and process know-how, and I urge our local SMEs to take full advantage of this programme.

Metrology and Standardisation Capabilities set up to support Nanotechnology

In addition to positioning Singapore as a hub for nanotechnology activities, we also intend to develop Singapore into a centre for nanotech-related standards and metrology.

Today, I am pleased to announce the establishment of a new Nano-scale Measurement Facility at SPRING – the first of its kind in South East Asia. With this new facility, Singapore will join the ranks of the advanced countries in being able to make minute measurements with atomic precision. This will ensure that ultra-precise measurements made by industry are accurate and reliable, and more importantly, meet international standards.

SPRING’s nanometrology facility is part of the five-year Metrology Roadmap. $10 million was set aside in 2004 for this purpose. It has taken us three years to develop and establish our nanometrology capability, which involved the recruitment of two PhD scientists, a fact finding mission to advanced laboratories in the United States, Europe and Japan, as well as the training of staff.

Conclusion

I am also happy to note that our efforts in taking the lead in the area of standardisation for nanotechnology are being recognised internationally. It is evident in this gathering of the ISO and IEC committees on Nanotech, who, for the first time, will hold their meetings here in Singapore over the next four days. In addition, Singapore’s leadership in standardisation at the Asia Nano Forum will help complement its standardisation efforts at the international level, which is done through the National Standardisation Working Group looking at nanotechnology.This affirms our vision of making Singapore a key node for nanotechnology and helping Singapore stay at the forefront of technological evolution.

On this note, I wish all of you a fruitful discussion at today’s Nanosymposium. For the foreign delegates, I hope that you will take some time off during your stay to take in the sights and sounds of Singapore as well. Thank you.